Starting mechanism for explosive-engines.



No. 843,611. PATENTED FEB. 12, 1907.

4 4 P. w. KANE. STARTING MECHANISM FOR EXPLOSIVE ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED DEG. 31.1904.

weam a 4 fweniw a. J M m @V m UNITED STATES PATENT oFFIoE.

PETER-WILLIAM KANE, OF MASON CITY, IOWA. STARTING ECHANISM FOR EXPLOSIVE-ENGINEVS.

No.848,'61l.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 31, 1904. Serial No. 239.182.

To all whom it may concern:-

Be it known that I, Pnrna WILLIAM KANE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Mason City, in the county of Cerro Gordo and State of Iowa, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Startin Mechanisms for Explosive-Engines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to means for starting gasclene-engines, and has particular reference to their operation in connection with automobiles.

As is well known,.the initial charging of a,

gasolene-engine cylinder with carbonized vapor and the lgnition thereof is usually accomplished by moving the engineiston throu h its grip upon the lever W 40.

upon the shaft also operate the s v -charge.

a hand-lever or arm arrange to rotate t e main driving-shaft and therethrou h impart the necessary initial strakes of t e piston which create suction Irom the carbureter and arking plug. When this means of starting t e en ine is'employed, the initial explosion is liabi to force back the hand-lever or operating-aim with more or less violence, thus imposing not only considerable strain upon the hand;- and arm of the person operating the lever, but often causing seriousinjury to theoperator.

The object of my invention is to provide means for rotating the engine-shaft by hand, at the same time automatically relieve the lever from the sudden back thrusts or kicks due tofthe e losion of initial To attain this e I provide a con nectlon between the lever-arm and the engine-shaft which will cause the former to clutch the latter when said arm is moved forward and cause the en inc-shaft to release en it rotates in opposition to the direction of positive movement of thelever-arm. I also provide means whereby the latter is caused to release its grip when the arm is moved backward' and caused to engage: the shaft'when said arm is moved forward. My invention consists in the novel construction and arrangement of parts hereinaftendescribed in detail, illustrated in the Y the inner clutch member,

drawings, and incorporated in the claims.

In the drawin s, Figure 1 is a View which represents a vertical section through a mechanism embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is an edge elevation of the bearin -plate and toget er with a portion of the shaft. Fig. 3 1s a face .view of the clutch member shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is cal plane at right angles or th vertiealiplanet Patented Feb. 12, 1907' of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a cross-section through f' the boss and a portion of the handle of lever-arm. Fi arm, partly bro en away Figs. 8- and 9 are views of the wedge member, taken on two planes at right angles to each other. I?" 10 is a side elevation of the starting-lever o the automobile and my invention connected to-- gether. v

Referring to the drawings, 2 represents a shaft having a socket ortion 3, which may be connected with the riving-shaft of an automobile in any suitable manner.

4 is a bearing-plate pierced by screw-holes 5 5 for screws 6, securing said-'bearing-plate to the body of the automobile. A ring rember 7 of clutch members 8 is secured to the bearing-plate 4 in any suitable manner-as, for instance, by stops 9, which engage recesses r1n Mounted iiormally within the member 7 and upon the shaft 2 is the inner clutch member 10. In the member 7 are a series of grooves 11 11, which are inclined to the plane of rotation of the shaft 2, and on the inner member 10 are inclined flanges or ribs 12, adapted to slide in and out of the grooves 11. Between the shaft.2' and the inner member 10 are a series of friction-rolls 13, for which inclined locking-surfaces are provided in slots or recesses 14 14 in the member 10 adjacent to its opening 15 for the shaft 2. The

grooves or recesses 14 14 have narrow and wide portions, the latter beingcontracted so that rolls 13 will become wedged in between,

the shaft and the inclined locking-surfaces of recesses 14 14 when the shaft is rotated in the direction indicated by the inner arrow in ig.

in the opposite directlon 3, and when rotated the widened portions of the grooves 14 permit the rolls 13 to become released from the shaft. Against one side of the clutch members 7 and 10 is a disk or wedge base-plate- 16, which is loosely mounted on shaft 2. Between said base-plate 16 and lever 17 is a-spiral spring 18,-tending to hold the inner clutch member 10 in engagement with the grooves 11 and the wedges 25, carried b the plate 16, out of engagement with rolls 3 23 between leverarm and shaft. Lever-arm 17 is held in place on the outer end of the shaft 2 by means of the disk or washer, which is secured on the 7 is a front View of the leverend of the shaft 2 by screw 19, having threaded engagement with the end of said shaft.

In the boss of lever-arm 17 is an opening 21 for the shaft 2, and arranged around said opening 21 are recesses 22 22 for the rolls 23 23 The recesses 22 are substantially similar to the recesses 14 in their function and have inclined locking-surfaces which bind rolls 23 between arm 17 and shaft 2 whenrotaied in one direction. row ends of recesses 22 are slots 24 24, adapted to, contain the points of wedges 25 25, secured to the disk 16. The points of these Wedges are of substantially the same width asrecesses 24 and do not normally penetrate far enough through the slots 24 to revent in be the rolls 23 from becoming wedge tween the shaft 2 and the inclined walls of rer cesses 22, the Wider portions {of the wedges being held from entering slots 22 by s ring 18-bearing against the wedge-support or aseplate 16 but when the slide portions or ribs 12 of inner. clutch member 10 move out of the Fig-10 the lever-arm 17, connected with the usual starting-lever 26 througha connecting bar 27. 1

The operation of my invention is as follows: When lever 26 is oscillated to the right,

. dicated Fig. 10, arm 17 is rotated in the direction in: by the arrow, Fig. 7, causing rolls 23 to bind between shaft 2 and the inclined'lo cking-surfa'ces of roll-recesses 22. This will cause rotation of shaft 2 in'the direction in dicated by the arrow on member 10 in Fig. 3, and thereby move rolls 13 into thewide' portions of recesses 14-.an'd releasing the clutch member 10 from the shaft 2. When the latter is rotated in the opposite direction or in the direction of the small arrow on the shaft, the rolls 13 are carried into narrow portions of the recesses and are wedged in between the shaft and tlie'locking-surfaces of the re cesses, thereby lockin the shaft 2 and mem ber 10 together. 'mwhich said ribs normally rest are inclined toward the plane of rotation of shaft 2, as shown in Fig. 2, the ribs 12of clutch'membe'r 10 slip out of. .-recesses 11, and as member 10 moves out of engagement with member 7 it carries with itself the base-plate 16 and moves the Wider portions of wedges'25 against the l engine have been started and shaft is in regu- 6 5 lar motion, which Would be indirection of rolls--23, releasing same from the grip in narrow portions of recesses, thus releasing arm 17frour shaft 2 and'preventing a violent throw of said-arm after the explosions of the Communicating with the nar- As t e ribs 12 and theslots the larger arrow in Fig. 3 or in a direction'opposite to that in which the shaft is rotated ber 10 Will be held out of engagement with the member 7 and in position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. l until the engine stops. The spiral spring 18 is tensioned very lightly or just sufficient to cause ribs 12 to engage at least partially the grooves 11.

force the ribs 12 into full engagement with the slots 11 until the reverse motion of the shaft causes said ribs to slip out again and wedges 25. as previously explained.

As obviously the embodiment of my invention is capable of numerous modifications without departing from the spirit of said in.-

the exact details of construction herein shown and described.

Having thus described my invention, I

- against said rolls to release same from looking engagement with said shaft when the late ter is rotated in the opposite direction.

roll interposed between said shaft and arm, the latter provided with a recess for said roll, having an. inclined locking-surface. and a cess, a wed e movablethrough said 0 enin and, normafiy out of engagement wit 1 -roll, and means for forcing said wedge against said roll movingthelatter out of an arm, 'journaled on said shaft an' outer and an inner clutch member, theouter'member arranged to remain stationary. relative to her journaled on said shaft, clutch-rolls interposed between said inner member and shaft, and similar rolls interposed between said arm and shafi, the rolls between the latter rotated in one direction and the rolls between said inner clutch member and shaft arranged to clutch the shaft when rotated in opposite direction, and a mechanism, actuated by said inner clutch member, for releasing said arm and shaft when the latter is rotated in opposition to the positive movement of said arm. A

by the starting-lever 26, and the clutch mem-' release arm 17 from shaft 2 through the vention, I do not Wish to confine the latter toclaim as new and desire to secure by Letters 2. V The combination with a rotary shaft, of an arm journaled on said shaft, .a lockingwedge-opening communicating with said resaid inner member and shaft, the inner mem-.

When the arm 17 is rotated to start the engine, it will- ICC clutch engagement withsaid shaft and arm. l 3. The combination with a'rotary shaft,'of

arranged toclutch the shaft when said arm is i 4. The combination with a rotary shaft, of a bearing for said shaft, an inner and an outer clutch member, the former normally journaled on said shaft and the latter secured to said bearing, friction-rolls inter osed be-- tween said inner member and said s aft, said rolls cooperating with said inner memberand shaft to interlock same for movement together and to release said inner member from said outer member, an oscillatory armalso j ournaled on said shaft and having frictionrolls interposed between same and said shaft, said rolls arranged to interlock said shaft and arm when the former' is rotated by the latter, to .free the friction-rolls between said inner member and shaft from interlocking engage ment, and means whereby said inner member, when interlocked withsaid'shaft by said rolls, releases the rolls between said arm and shaft from en 'agement. v 1

5. The com ination with arotaryshaft, of an'arm journaled thereon, clutch-rolls arranged between said arm and shaft to 'inter-' lock same when said am is oscillated in one naled on said shaft, clutch-rolls arran ed between said rotary clutch member an shaft,

series of wedges, and means whereby said r0 tary clutch member, when moved out of en- 'direction,- a rotary clutch member also, jour-r gagement with said stationary =clutch meinber aetuates said wedges to force the clutchrolls interposed between said armand shatt" out of operative engagement therewith.-

. .35 6. The combinatlon withz-a rotary shaftof an arm journaled on said shaft,clutch-rolls interposed between said arm'and shaft and arranged to lock same together when the shaft is rotated forward by said arm, said rolls releasing said arm from said shaft when the latter is rotated backward, a series of I wedges arranged around said shaft and movable against' saidrolls, but normally held out of engagement with same, an actuating memher for said wedges, 'ournaled on sai shaft,

inclined ribs on sal actuating member, a stationary ring or member having slidegrooves therein for saidribsmluteh-ro'lls interposed between saidactuatin member and- ,ward, and a spring interposed between-said arm and actuating member, tendin to hold the latter in engagement with sai station- I m ember. L n testimony whereof I have hereunto set hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

PETER W 'Witnesses:f I

-.D.W.-TELFORD,

vJ. J. Moons.

agement with said 

